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Early antibiotic exposure has been associated with wheezing and asthma in children, but whether the relation is causative or the result of reverse causation (asthma symptoms lead to antibiotic use) or confounding by indication (another hidden variable causes antibiotic use and is a risk for asthma) is uncertain. In a population-based birth cohort, investigators in the U.K. examined this link in 800 children born between 1995 and 2000 who were followed until age 11 years.
Most children (71%) received antibiotics during the first year of life and 51% of children had at least one physician-diagnosed wheezing episode. Children who received antibiotics during the first year had a 1.71 increased risk for wheezing or asthma. The risk was greatest d…